3DS Forum

2013 has been an awesome year for the 3DS. I got my 3DS XL in April around the time that Luigi's Mansion 2 came out, and since that point there has been a pretty steady string of great titles.

Give your contenders and your winner.

The titles I really got into this year were: Luigi's Mansion, Pokemon X/Y, Animal Crossing: New Leaf, Ace Attorney 5 and Link Between Worlds.

Here's what kept the runners up from being GOTY:

Luigi's Mansion 2 is a great puzzle-adventure game that probably would have been even better on the big screen with HD visuals. I kept the 3D off most of the time. That's, at the very least, one element that keeps it from being my favorite.

-Pokemon X and Y are amazing games but they've lost the culture of sharing Pokemon with your friends. The series still makes bajillions of dollars so it doesn't matter but something has been lost in the translation of taking the series online. They were also really easy in comparison with the other games.

-Animal Crossing: New Leaf is the craziest time sink and eventually I just realized I wasn't interested in maintaining the town anymore. Maybe that says something about me? Probably not. But for two months it was amazing to run around a little town that I was the mayor of, developing all sorts of land, acquiring new and collectible neighbors and fishing like a maniac. Anyway, I never revisit these games because eventually you've seen a lot of the script and it repeats itself.

-Ace Attorney 5 is the best in the series. It had the best use of 3D on the system before my Game of the Year was released. It is hilarious, and if you're up to the task of reading a lot of text, the story is complex, with a ton of twists and turns that you'll sometimes see coming but a lot of times won't! And yet weird anime cut-scenes always bother me. Despite that, in any other year I would say this was my favorite game. Except..

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds was released, and it's my GOTY. No surprises. A sequel to Link to the Past, and it rocks, and it's in 60 FPS so the 3D really doesn't make you squint your eyes. It has ingenious platforming challenges, based around the ideas that dungeons propel you upwards and downwards, to take best advantage of the 3D effect. And it works. It's got the same spirit (and map!) as LTTP, with an instantly accessible world that changes and unfolds as you meet its characters and continue on your quest in an order that isn't completely determined. Just a master-piece by the Zelda team and a great sign for the upcoming Wii U title.

SteamWorld Dig(yeah the Eshop game)
incredibly well done and really fun to play

Harmoknight(yeah the other Eshop game)
those Pokémon stages... so. nostalgic. and everything else was fun too

goodbyes are a sad part of life but for every end there's a new beggining so one must never stop looking forward to the next dawn
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That's gotta be out of Pokemon X/Y, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate and Etrian Odyssey 4, unless I'm forgetting something else notable.
Monster Hunter has taken up a lot of my time (1000+ hours so far), and has been great for hanging with friend and meeting new people.
Pokemon has started to take over my Monster Hunter time (400+ hours so far), and I'm sure it'll continue for quite some time to come.
Etrian Odyssey IV is my first Etrian Odyssey game, and I really loved everything about it.
Such a hard choice (I can easily argue for any of them)... I'll have to give it to, uhhhh... maaaaaybe Etrian Odyssey IV.
Definitely not as clear cut as last year with Kid Icarus: Uprising, which is still easily the best game on the system.

I also really enjoyed Animal Crossing: New Leaf, but lost interest pretty heavily after the first week.
Fire Emblem: Awakening was a complete disappointment, nowhere near as good as some of the previous Fire Emblem games that I loved.
I'm still not too far into A Link Between Worlds so I can't completely pass judgement on it yet, but I haven't really been able to get into it so far (hence why i'm not far in despite getting it on launch night) and it's probably gotta be the most boring Zelda game I've played in quite some time from what I can tell.

Edit: Bravely Default is also still yet to hit this year, and it's one I was really excited for... but based on the demo, it doesn't really have a chance.

Fire Emblem Awakening, very closely followed by Link Between Worlds. Pokemon X/Y in third, the main game is probably the best in any Pokemon game so far, but the virtually non-existant single player post game puts it down a notch.

Pokemon X and Y are amazing games but they've lost the culture of sharing Pokemon with your friends. The series still makes bajillions of dollars so it doesn't matter but something has been lost in the translation of taking the series online

If anything, taking it online has reinforced the cooperation of other players.

My SD Card with the game on it is just as physical as your cartridge with the game on it.
I love Nintendo, that's why I criticize them so harshly.

Fire Emblem Awakening by far, though I have to reserve judgment for LBW and AA5 which I'll get to try out later on the holiday. It's one of those cases where I felt the characters drive the game more than the battle system itself, even if the story was not so hot.
Honorable Mentions:

Fire Emblem Awakening by far, though I have to reserve judgment for LBW and AA5 which I'll get to try out later on the holiday. It's one of those cases where I felt the characters drive the game more than the battle system itself, even if the story was not so hot.
Honorable Mentions:

SMT IV

Pokemon X

SMT was such a great game!

Currently playing : ZombiU on Wii U / Soul Sacrifice on Vita / Mario Golf World Tour on 3DS

I don't have ALBW yet, but with as critically acclaimed as it's been, I expect I'll consider it the best game, too, when I get it!

...right now, though, I'll have to say Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. I haven't enjoyed a game so much since, well, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story! The Mario & Luigi series is probably my favorite video game series ever. They always knock it out of the ballpark as far as quality and fun goes.

No game has really stuck with me this year on the 3DS. I completed Dark Moon once, haven't gone back. I put a little over 20 hours into New Leaf, haven't touched it since. I refresh my team in Pokémon X on route to the second Gym, haven't played the game since. I haven't bothered to open FE:A as I've never played FE before and I have little confidence in it hooking me in if these other titles are not doing the job. Right now, I'm on Senran Kagura Burst and for the moment that is my current 3DS GOTY.

No game has really stuck with me this year on the 3DS. I completed Dark Moon once, haven't gone back. I put a little over 20 hours into New Leaf, haven't touched it since. I refresh my team in Pokémon X on route to the second Gym, haven't played the game since. I haven't bothered to open FE:A as I've never played FE before and I have little confidence in it hooking me in if these other titles are not doing the job. Right now, I'm on Senran Kagura Burst and for the moment that is my current 3DS GOTY.

I hope you don't mind me asking but why buy FE:A if your not going to play it isn't that a bit of a waste of money.